Intertek's Assurance in Action Podcast Network

European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): An Overview of Products and Commodities Impacted

Intertek Assuris Season 8 Episode 4

In this episode, join scientific consultants Lois Haighton, Luke Gwenter, and Karen Ngo from Intertek’s Food & Nutrition Assuris Group as they dive into the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Tune in as they break down the key commodities and products affected by this regulation and provide insights on how to determine whether a specific item falls within its scope. Don't miss this informative podcast on navigating compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape!

Speakers:

  • Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris
  • Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris
  • Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

 

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00:16 --> 00:48
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Welcome to our podcast on the European Union deforestation regulation, which is often referred to as the EUDR. I'm Lois Haighton, Senior Director at Intertek Assuris. I'm here with my colleagues Luke Gwenter and Karen Ngo, who are also from our Food & Nutrition Assuris group. Today we are going to talk more about the various commodities and products that this regulation will cover and how to distinguish whether something among these broad commodities is in scope or not in scope.

So Luke and Karen?

Are you ready to help businesses understand what they need to do to prepare for this upcoming deadline?

 

00:48 --> 01:33
 Speaker 2 – Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Thanks Lois! Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We would be happy to share further details regarding this regulation. This is our second podcast on the EUDR. If you haven’t already, please listen to our first podcast, which describes the regulation and provides a good introduction to the EUDR. You can find this podcast on the Intertek’s Assurance in Action Podcast network, and search for “European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) with Intertek Assuris”.

Now, as many of you may be aware, the deadline for implementation was changed from December 2024 to December 2025, so we're here to share with you a bit more information to help prepare for this upcoming deadline. 

 

01:33 --> 01:44
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Luke, I understand that UK now isn't actually subject to the EUDR. But what are businesses in the UK going to need to know to be able to prepare for EUDR? What are their obligations?

 

01:44 --> 02:11
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Hi Everyone,

So in the UK, yeah, you're correct Lois, they're not set by the EUDR regulation, however, for any commodities that are within scope and will be placed on the market in the EU, they must ensure due diligence with the EUDR regulation. Therefore, the UK along with any other non-EU country must comply with the EUDR if they want to sell products that are covered by the regulation in the EU member states. 

 

02:11 --> 02:15
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

How can we determine whether a product is in scope?

 

02:15 --> 02:50
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

There are 7 commodities listed within the regulation. They are cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soya, and wood, and includes many products derived from these commodities. As a first step, if you import or export these commodities in the EU, it is important to check if your products are in scope.  

The regulation includes a list of products derived from the commodities we have mentioned. The products are organized with harmonized system codes, often referred to as HS codes. A HS code consists of 6 digits, and it allows you to identify the product type.

 

02:50 --> 02:55
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Is the HS code anything new and where can people find a listing of the codes?

 

02:55 --> 03:20
 Speaker 2 – Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

The HS codes are not new and have been used in commerce for many other economic purposes.  In full, HS is the “Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System”. It was developed by the World Customs Organization and covers over 5000 commodity groups, or approximately 98% of merchandise that is in international trade. You can check the World Customs Organization website for the HS database.

 

03:20 --> 03:34
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

5000 is a lot of products. I suppose it helps that Annex I of the EUDR is only 7 commodities but can we help simplify it a bit more for stakeholders in the food industry?

Luke, can you tell us more about coffee and cocoa products that are in scope?

 

03:34 --> 04:00
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Sure! When reviewing the HS codes in Annex I of the regulation, the specific products related to coffee include Green, roasted, and decaffeinated beans, as well as ground and instant coffee. For cocoa, HS codes 1801 to 1806 which correspond to Raw and roasted cocoa beans, cocoa paste, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate-based products are listed as relevant products. 

 

04:00 --> 04:05
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

What are some examples of coffee and cocoa products that are not in scope?

 

04:05 --> 04:56
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

The key concept of scoping under the EUDR regulation is understanding that it applies to products placed on or exported from the EU market. This means that EUDR-relevant products processed into non-covered products outside the EU can be imported without being subject to the regulation’s scope.

For example, mixed goods containing coffee or cocoa—such as flavoured drinks, cakes, or ice creams—are outside the regulation’s scope if they are imported into the EU and do not have an HS code listed in Annex I. However, if these products are manufactured within the EU, using raw commodities with in-scope HS codes, those commodities must comply with the EUDR requirements.

Another similar example of products that may not be in scope could be cosmetics and pharmaceuticals using cocoa butter or coffee extracts. 

 

04:56 --> 05:01
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Karen, what about soya and palm oil, what of those commodities would be in scope?

 

05:01 --> 06:10
 Speaker 2 – Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

For the commodity of soya, this covers soya beans, soya bean flour, soya bean meal, and soya bean oil and its fractions. Oil cake and other solid residues, which can be ground or in pellet form, resulting from the extraction of soya bean oil are also included. As Luke mentioned earlier, products with a HS code not listed in Annex 1 of the regulation are not subject to the requirements of the EUDR, even if it contains components or elements listed in Annex 1. For example, if I am importing soybeans from another country into the EU, these soybeans are in scope. However, if I am manufacturing soy milk from soybeans in a non-EU country, and then importing the finished soymilk product into the EU, the HS code for soy milk is not listed in Annex 1 and therefore, would not be in scope.

As for palm oil, this is a rather large category that covers palm nuts and kernels; palm oil and its fractions; crude palm kernel and other similar products. We won’t discuss all products that fall within the category of palm oil, but would like to emphasize the importance of checking if your product’s HS code is listed in Annex 1 of the regulation. 

 

06:10 --> 06:34
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

I see that Annex I of the EUDR makes reference to ex 0201 “meat of cattle, fresh or chilled with ex 0202 referring to the same but frozen. I gather that “ex” stands for extract. I would typically think of extract as a chemistry term but I suppose the term could  be used to describe a steak. But what about a frozen lasagne. Is that a similar example to a mixed drink?

 

06:34 --> 07:04
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Well lasagne falls under HS code 1902 “pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed (with meat or other substances)”. The HS code 1902 is not currently included in Annex I and not in scope of EUDR. However, yes, like the example with the drinks, a business in an EU member country that imports fresh meat of cattle to make the lasagne or ravioli, or any pasta stuffed with meat from cattle would need a statement for the raw commodity.

 

07:04 --> 07:16
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

The commodities of wood and rubber might seem less relevant to the food industry but I see that Annex I to the EUDR includes tableware and kitchenware of wood so food contact might be a consideration.

 

07:16 --> 07:46
 Speaker 2 – Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Absolutely.  Annex I loosely references Pulp and Paper of Chapters 47 and 48 of the combined nomenclature. If you check the full HS list, chapter 48 includes trays, dishes, plates, cups and the like of paper or paperboard. Also, chopsticks and bread boards, or chopping boards fall under tableware and kitchenware. However, rubber gloves for hygienic purposes, which potentially might be used for food preparation, is not listed on Annex I. Bamboo was also excluded.

 

07:46 --> 08:03
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

There is a lot of information to process. Thank you Karen and Luke. Thanks all for listening. Stay tuned for more information. While today’s podcast focused on food, Intertek can also support the consumer products industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industries.

Any final words Karen and Luke?

 

08:03 --> 08:15
 Speaker 2 – Karen Ngo, Manager, Toxicology & Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

One key reminder, is that not all land applies. This regulation applies to commodities produced from land AFTER December 31st, 2020. Please keep this date in mind! Thank you all for listening today.

 

08:15 --> 08:27
 Speaker 3 – Luke Gwenter, Associate Dietary Intakes, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

I think a good bit of advice would be to always stay up to date by checking the latest consolidated version of the regulation against your products, as the list of in-scope HS codes may expand over time.

 

08:27 --> 08:32
 Speaker 1 – Lois Haighton, Senior Director, Toxicology & Project Operations, Food & Nutrition Group, Intertek Assuris

Great advice. Goodbye everyone, have a great day. Remember that Intertek is here to help.